Over 40s Win by One Run!

Wednesday 26th July 2017
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Stoke D’Abernon Over 40s 123 for 9 (20 overs)
Weybridge Over 40s 122 for 9 (20 overs)
Stoke D’Abernon Over 40s won by 1 run

Think of all the reasons that you play cricket and most of them were on show in this one.

Two clubs with a like minded approach to get a game on and involve everyone, have fun along the way with a competitive edge when necessary, play out an exciting game that went to the last ball and beers afterwards.

The skies threatened to spoil things but thankfully a bit of drizzle at the scheduled time of the toss was all we had. One issue was just five Stokers having made it to the ground, so the sensible decision to get things going was for Stoke to have a bat first. We just about had a full compliment when the first ball was bowled.

Justin Jones and Andy Berry gave Stoke a great platform adding 48 in 6.3 overs, 34 of these came in a 12 ball period that saw Berry, (35 off 19), depart the ball after he hit the house over the road for six to prompt the appearance of a rather grumpy resident. He was quite an old chap, but we’re still confident the cricket ground was here first.

Starved of strike Jones, (17), fell soon after to a great running catch on the line; but three overs later Stoke were still well placed at 67 for 3 after 11.1.

After this, to say Stoke lost their way a little is an understatement. Another five wickets were lost in the next 18 balls for the addition of just six runs; Deepak Malhotra losing a succession of partners, although a couple were victims of his own aggressive running.

Keen to give the scoring rate a nudge, Malhotra scored the majority of an eighth wicket stand of 31 with Simon Richardson. No.10 Geoff Vinall adopted a ‘get bat on ball’ approach that worked well until he was ninth out with one ball left. Malhotra, (41 not out – his highest score for Stoke), watched the last ball hit for two to close the innings on 123 for 9.

A quick turnaround saw Andy Page and Sanjay Goswami open the bowling with differing fortunes. Weybridge got a bit of extra help, (Stoke would concede 21 of them), and openers Hall and Gray added 47 in no time.

Vinall and Ralph Coleman checked the scoring rate; Vinall found Gray’s edge to give Berry a catch behind the stumps to get Stoke on the board; then Coleman picked up McDonald lbw for 8. Vinall switched ends to allow the spinners to operate with the longer cow boundary and made it 79 for 3 when he took a return catch to account for Gray who made 32; but Weybridge were ahead of the rate and reached the 100 by the end of the 17th over.

But Stoke never gave up. James Howells, who played for Stoke in this fixture last year, was bowled by Malhotra, but Burgess clubbed the first ball he faced over the short boundary on the full to keep the home side ahead on the WASP.

With Vinall pulling up and unable to complete his allocation, Jones tried a couple of overs and did buy the wicket of Hargreaves for 20 who was smartly stumped by Berry; but the odds were still against Stoke as the penultimate over yielded seven more to leave six required from the last.

Thinking that his night’s work was done, Page got an unexpected call to bowl the last over. He delivered a simply phenomenal set.

Ferris edged the first ball, Berry keeping everyone in suspense when tipping the ball up a couple of times having not taken the catch cleanly at the first attempt; the second ball yielded a single, (five to win off four), before Burgess was bowled off the third. A nurdled single off the fourth left two chances to hit four to win; but Dunlop was bowled off the penultimate ball of the match.

This left No.10 Wyeth the last delivery to score the four needed; but he only got the pink ball as far as Dickson who was patrolling the short boundary. The batsmen kept running, and in a comedy moment Molloy tipped the ball with his bat to deny the fielder a clean pick up, before his partner was eventually run out by yards trying to tie the scores. Page’s final figures were 4-0-13-3.

So another nail-biter, half of the Stoke side are used to these things given the ridiculous amount of close finishes in 2nd XI cricket this year, though. The 2017 Over 40s series is now tied at 1-1, so much talk in the bar of a decider in the next week or so. Watch this space for anything we agree.

Our thanks to Weybridge for their excellent hospitality, and to Kevin for his perseverance in getting a Stoke XI out after many changes to the original side he had written down.

Scorecard : http://sdacc.play-cricket.com/website/results/3185325